LAS VEGAS, Nevada, United States of America — Instant immortality awaits Manny Pacquiao in this dazzling capital when he takes his gamble of gambles against Mexico’s Erik Morales today with a bold, heroic vow to carry the whole nation in his arms.
And Pacquiao, who has been called Little Tyson, yesterday received a confidence vote from the world heavyweight boxing great who inspired the Filipino boxing star’s fierce, blazing style.
Mike Tyson, who is here to watch the fight, said he liked Morales to win but acknowledged the power of Pacquiao during a chance interview at the MGM Grand lobby where he was mobbed by fans who recognized him.
“Have you seen Pacquiao fight?” he was asked.
“Yes, he’s powerful,” said Tyson who started banging on the door to the VIP check-in.
Tyson first saw Pacquiao when the Filipino boxing celebrity from General Santos City saw action against Jorge Julio in the main supporting bout of Iron Mike’s losing fight with Lennox Lewis in Memphis in June 2002.
Tyson, after picking Pacquiao, said Morales could have a chance if he uses “constant jabs, combinations.”
Tyson said the fight won’t last the distance.
“Pacquiao might stop him. He throws too many punches. Morales don’t throw too many punches. It will be hard for Morales to keep the guy off. It will be hard to stop him.”
No official title is at stake but the reward in the fistic war at the MGM Grand Garden Arena cannot be aptly measured for its worth and impact.
Every punch he throws will be for his countrymen — “Basta sa bawa’t suntok ko kasama ‘yung mga kababayan kong Pilipino” — Pacquiao declared like a soldier sailing to war as he headed back to his suite after a hearty dinner at the hotel’s grand buffet.
No territories will be disputed either, but the clash of native pride has given Pacquiao the very rare chance to cure the sagging national spirit and lift his poor countrymen to ecstatic heights.
The awesome task is the first of this magnitude for any Filipino.
Just like Morales, a three-time world champion out to regain pride, Pacquiao is coming with everything — con todo — in a fight that has all the trappings of an all-time classic.
The 5-foot-7 Morales, 28, will give everything that’s left of his legendary strength and skills. The Mexican boxing icon, with only two losses, has never been stopped in 49 fights.
Nothing less could be expected of the 26-year-old Pacquiao who also has lost only twice in 39 bouts.
Pacquiao, 5-foot-5 1/2, has the higher knockout record, 30 in 39 fights, compared to Morales, who has 34 in 47 wins.
Pacquiao continued to be the favorite in the sports book windows here despite the in-rush of Mexican money on the eve of the fight that has lent the MGM Grand and its neighboring establishments a frenzied fiesta mood.
Knockout
Predictably, those who had placed bets on Pacquiao also picked him to win by knockout.
If the bout were held right after the weigh-in at the Grand Arena yesterday, where Morales had to shed an extra pound for 30 minutes before stripping naked to make 130 lbs, Pacquiao would have blown the Mexican out of the ring.
Pacquiao, who breezed through the scales at 129 1/2 lbs after having feasted like a king while skipping dinner for only a night, was visibly too mighty and muscular for Morales who came looking like a skeletal penitent ready to reenact the Crucifixion.
It will, however, be a totally different scenario in the ring today. Morales, after he’s able to again take full meals, will blossom into a welterweight and fight at about 143 lbs.
Offensive lions
Pacquiao himself would come in with necessary poundage and enter maybe at 136 lbs.
On the whole though, the fight could be decided on who’s able to withstand the punches of the other guy and score solid blows in return.
Morales, slightly taller and with a longer reach and better footwork, packs a mean right straight and a jarring uppercut.
Pacquiao is feared for his whirlwind offensive, anchored on a lethal left cross and great stamina that could send him throwing punches from bell to bell.
Both fighters are offensive lions.
With their sharp, blazing styles, the fight could develop into a savage encounter.
“We’re ready, we’re gonna have fun,” trainer Freddie Roach said after dinner with Pacquiao yesterday.
Will they jumpstart to put Morales off-balance?
“No, no, they expect us to do that, we have other plans, but what I expect is for Morales to come out dirty,” Roach said.
Z “The Dream” Gorres fights Glenn Donaire, an LA-based Filipino in one of the undercards. The super-lightweight bout is scheduled for eight rounds.
Betting odds
Last night, a $135-bet on Pacquiao was to pay only $100, based on the sports book odds.
The infighting in Team Pacquiao, which came out into the open during the pre-fight medical, was momentarily shelved as the moment of truth neared.
Pacquiao himself shrugged off as unfounded fears in Manila that he had been rendered weak after a simple blood test the other day.
Praying the rosary
The original five-day recitation of the rosary inside Pacquiao’s suite was extended to six, with the final one today before the fighter leaves for the fight site.
A $100-wager on Morales would yield $120.
Pacquiao has consistently been favored in the betting windows here, but an exit poll of selected boxing experts in the United States gave Morales the nod, 54 to Pacquiao’s 51, with one draw.
Mexicans are expected to outnumber Filipinos 4 to 1 at the MGM Garden Arena where Pacquiao missed outpointing another Mexican, Juan Manuel Marquez, the IBF/WBA featherweight champion, who escaped with a draw despite going down three times in the first round.
Before that all-revealing draw with Marquez, Pacquiao’s stock had risen prodigiously following his 11th round demolition of Marco Antonio Barrera, another Mexican, in Texas in 2003.
Dreaming of Morales
Pacquiao, as early as after that epic win over Barrera, had been begging his handlers to put on Morales.
Pacquiao kept saying he had been dreaming of Morales.
Many boxing experts, including his handlers, did not take Pacquiao seriously.
Veteran referee Joe Cortez will be the third man in the ring. Sitting as judges are Dave Moretti, Chuck Giampa and Paul Smith, the same set of judges who called the first Winky Wright-Shane Mosley unification bout, among other high-profile matches.
